Sure enough, on that night in
Hollywood, Mike Davis coaxed a walk out of Oakland Athletics ace reliever
Dennis Eckersley. Tommy Lasorda, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, summoned
Gibson, who gimped to the plate with two outs and promptly cranked a slider
into the right-field bleachers for a 5-4 Dodgers win in Game 1 of the 1988
World Series. “It was the one pitch he could pull for power,” Eckersley told Sports
Illustrated.”He hit the dogmeat out of it.”
That win placed the Dodgers on course
for an improbable World Series championship; the prior season they had finished
with a losing record. The homer stood as not only the highlight of Gibson's
impressive career, but the most theatrical turn of events for the Dodgers since
they arrived in Los Angeles 30 years earlier. “Unbelievable,” Lasorda said
later. “You talk about drama—you couldn't have written a better script.” Gibson
said, “I live for these moments. I'm an impact player, and I love the added
pressure of admitting it.”
The 1988 season was Gibson's first with
the Dodgers. An excellent wide receiver in football while at Michigan State
University, Gibson spent nine baseball seasons as a hard-hitting, no-nonsense
outfielder with the Detroit Tigers. He had two home runs and hit .333 in the
Tigers' 1984 World Series championship.
The Dodgers signed Gibson to a
three-year, $4.5-million free-agent contract prior to the 1988 season in a move
to retool the team from a 73-89 record the year before. Gibson brought an
intense attitude to a team that lacked one. Just before the first spring
training game he discovered that someone had lined his baseball cap with shoe
polish as a joke. Incensed, Gibson left the field in a huff and stayed away
from the team for a day, sending a clear message that he was not interested in
joking around.
With the help of Gibson's .290 batting
average, 25 home runs, and his will to win, the Dodgers unexpectedly clawed
their way to a first-place finish in the West Division. In the National League
Championship Series (NLCS) they met a powerful New York Mets team led by Darryl
Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, David Cone, and Dwight Gooden. Gibson hit a
12th-inning home run in Game 4 and a three-run blast in Game 5 to pace the
Dodgers in a come-from-behind seven-game series victory.
But Gibson reinjured his left hamstring
in Game 5 of that series and then hurt his right knee in the final game of the
series. He looked to be out of service for the World Series, which left the
Dodgers seemingly undermanned in the matchup with the Athletics, a bruising
team that led the major leagues with 104 wins. The Athletics' lineup boasted
sluggers Jose Canseco, who paced the American League with 42 home runs and 124
runs batted in (RBIs), and Mark McGwire, who added 32 home runs and 99 RBIs,
plus pitchers Dave Stewart, who won 21 games, and Eckersley, who led the league
with 45 saves.
The Dodgers had virtually counted out
Gibson for at least the opening contest of the World Series. “Before the game
he told me he couldn't do anything,” Lasorda said. Gibson spent much of the
game in the training room, watching on television as Canseco swatted a grand
slam in the second inning to give the A's a 4-2 lead. The Dodgers added a run
in the seventh to draw the score to 4-3.
In the eighth inning Gibson heard
television broadcaster Vin Sculley say, “The man who is the spearhead of the
Dodger offense throughout the year, who saved them in the League Championship
Series, will not see any action tonight, for sure. Gibson is not even in the
dugout.” This comment was more than Gibson could take. He slipped on his
uniform top, walked to a batting cage inside Dodger Stadium, and hit baseballs
off a tee. “I tried to swing a bat in my living room in the morning and
couldn't do it,” Gibson later said. “But once I got up in that cage, I didn't
feel anything until I was going around the bases.”
Gibson sent Dodgers batboy Mitch Poole
to tell Lasorda that the slugger was ready if needed. Lasorda hustled to the
batting cage to talk to Gibson himself. “As soon as he heard that I wanted to
hit,” Gibson said, “he took off.” During Davis's at bat Gibson entered the
dugout and sat in the corner wearing a helmet and holding a black bat. Davis
drew a walk, Gibson limped to the plate, and the crowd of 55,983 rose to its
feet.
Gibson fouled off the first three
pitches rather feebly. When he dribbled one foul up the first base line and
hobbled a few steps down the line with it, he appeared to need a cane more than
a bat. “He looked like a newborn deer,” Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser
recalled. “We're thinking this is a terrible decision. Tommy shouldn't have him
in there. Gibby can't even swing the bat. Then Davis steals second. Now we're
hoping for blooper, a bleeder, an error, anything.”
Gibson worked the count to 3-2. He then
fouled off four pitches after the count was full. Eckersley delivered a low
slider. Gibson, batting left-handed, lifted his front foot, swung the bat down,
and turned on the pitch with a resounding swat. As he limped around the bases
he pumped his fist.
The Dodgers knocked off the Athletics
in five games. The home run was Gibson's only appearance in the 1988 World
Series. He won the 1988 National League Most Valuable Player award and played
two more seasons for the Dodgers, hitting .213 in 71 games in 1989 and .260 in
89 games in 1990, before finishing his career. But injuries limited his playing
time and his effectiveness. He certainly never was the impact player he was in
1988.
“I had all game to think about that
situation,” Gibson said later of his greatest night. “I could see myself doing
the job. Even though I had a physical disability I knew when I stepped out of
the dugout the crowd would give me a favorable reaction. I thank the big Dodger
in the sky for choosing me to be the guy to celebrate that moment for the rest
of my life.”
